Feast! Throughout human history; and in all parts of the world; feasts have been at the heart of life. The great museums of the world are full of the remains of countless ghostly feasts – dishes that once bore rich meats; pitchers used to pour choice wines; tall jars that held beer sipped through long straws of gold and lapis; immense cauldrons from which hundreds of people could be served. Why were feasts so important; and is there more to feasting than abundance and enjoyment? The Never-Ending Feast is a pioneering work that draws on anthropology; archaeology and history to look at the dynamics of feasting among the great societies of antiquity renowned for their magnificence and might. Reflecting new directions in academic study; the focus shifts beyond the medieval and early modern periods in Western Europe; eastwards to Mesopotamia; Assyria and Achaemenid Persia; early Greece; the Mongol Empire; Shang China and Heian Japan. The past speaks through texts and artefacts. We see how feasts were the primary arena for displays of hierarchy; status and power; a stage upon which loyalties and alliances were negotiated; the occasion for the mobilization and distribution of resources; a means of pleasing the gods; and the place where identities were created; consolidated – and destroyed. The Never-Ending Feast transforms our understanding of feasting past and present; revitalising the fields of anthropology; archaeology; history; museum studies; material culture and food studies; for all of which it is essential reading.
#2175293 in eBooks 2015-01-13 2015-01-13File Name: B00R3KLGLC
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Unique; Fascinating and EducationalBy DavidThe mission was to find a book dealing with Mobility and modern trends. The search engine universe manifested the book "Mobile Interface Theory." This is the very first book I have "rented" for $9.00. The content of the book was both engrossingly interesting and also difficult to follow; due to all the new buzzwords. Is it worth it? Yes! However; be prepared to have your hair blown back with a flash flood of new terms. "Mobile Interface Theory" is an academic book attempting to shed some light on the basic theory behind this new digital mobile revolution; without being hopelessly outdated the minute the book hit the stands.Cyberculture / Micro-Places / Smart Mobs / Pervasive Computing / Wearable Computing / Mobile Interface Embodiment / Biomapping / Locative Interfaces / Site-Specific Storytelling / Artifact Engaged Interaction / Unpracticed Databases / Digital Tagging / Mobile Media Narrative / Sensory-inscribed / Mobil Urban Markup / Polyvocality / Mobile Media bubbles /....... I need to stop now."Mobile Interface Theory" will absolutely deliver on the promise of expanding your mental horizon of this new emerging mobile world. Did I understand everything written in the book? NO; and I have a degree in Philosophy. This is a book that demands to be taken seriously; and read at least twice if not three times. It is challenging not only due to the new words; but also to the fact that it provides a broad overview of mobile media culture at a level that most of us would not experience.While reading this book; I started to become much more aware of examples of mobile Interfacing; such as the Streetmuseum application. This mobile device application will show you an overlay of a modern photograph with a historical photograph; and I believe uses GPS technology to guide the user in the field. I began to notice photographs of this application being shared on Facebook by friends in England.The notes of this book are a source of future reading and research. Jason Farman is likely one of the few academic scholars who have attempted to tackle from a philosophical view just what in the world is going on between society and Mobility. Reading this book has changed my perspective when I watch people engage with mobile technology; providing new insight to the driving factors behind this mobile media social revolution.I will absolutely be reading his future work.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Very Good but ChallengingBy John T. OFarrellBe prepared to think when reading this challenging content but well worth it. I took off one star as the Dr Farman assumes that we are all well versed in a plethora of philosophies from a plethora of philosophers...I spent a bit of time looking into a number of different philosophies in order to make sense of the text. This is clearly a graduate/phd level work.John OFarrell is an interactive marketing expert in the metropolitan New York area. You can visit his blog: AllThingsInteractive.com1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. MobileBy Pedro DemoSmart study of mobile interface in the avant-garde of the digital world; viewing internet as generative or an authoring tool. Mobile technology is revolutionizing our society in the sense that we can; more and more; match our mobility and take some advantages of this situation. I appreciated very much the analytical property: very sophisticated and up-to-date.
